Nazeel Juvale – CEO of Al Ain FC, Football ‘Tragic’, Global Traveller

In this episode I catch up with Nazeel Juvale, CEO of Al Ain FC  – one of Asia’s biggest football clubs – and a rare New Zealander who has reached senior leadership at the elite level of the global game.

Now living in the United Arab Emirates, Nazeel left Aotearoa New Zealand in 2012 after roles with Deloitte and the ANZ.

His career since has spanned infrastructure, tourism, entertainment, private investment, global sport, and now professional football – with the past 12 months including matches against Manchester City and Juventus at the FIFA Club World Cup, as well as a title-winning season in which Al Ain became the UAE Pro League’s first-ever ‘Invincible’ champions.

For a Kiwi who grew up waking at 3am to watch Barcelona from New Zealand, it’s not a bad place to end up.

Our conversation tracks Nazeel’s life through travel, sport, identity, and ambition. His father was a ship’s captain, which led to a unique series of family holidays on the high seas, while his mother still works as a travel agent in New Zealand. Nazeel has now visited more than 100 countries, giving him a perspective shaped by India, New Zealand, the UAE, and a very large chunk of the rest of the world.

We talk about the back surgery that ended his first sporting love, cricket, and how football became one of the great organising passions of his life. Nazeel shares his World Cup memories from 1994 to today, and how he once found himself with a free ticket to the 2015 Champions League Final.

We also get into the business of football, fan culture, representing New Zealand offshore, and what Aotearoa might learn from the UAE’s ambition, long-term planning, and execution in becoming a globally competitive tourist destination.

A huge thanks to Nazeel for joining me on Kiwi Flees.

On behalf of OFNZ, thank you for listening and sharing the pod.

My thanks, too, to the Wellington-based team at Matrix Digital, and Kea for promoting Kiwi Flees.

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